Artificial limb



1,575,068 T. M. LAWRENCE V ARTIFICIAL LIME Filed August 20, 1924 INVENTOI'? ATTORNEY fizg a Patented Mar. 2, 1925.

UNITED sfrarss THEODORE M. LAWRENCE, OE SEATTLE, v-ASHINGTON- ARTIFICIAL LIME.

Application filed August 20, 1924. Serial No. 733,042.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, 'llnnononn-M. LAwnnNon, a citizen of the United States, residinn at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Vashington, have invented a new and useful Artificial Limb; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,

and exact specification, such as will enable be readily adjusted to fit people of dilierent heights.

Vith these ends in view the invention embodies a device in the form of a limb" and foot having upper and lower sections with .1 disc in one of the sections upon which the stump of the limb will rest, which disc is adjustably held on a vertical screw, and which foot is adjustably held to the sections.

Other features and advantages of the mvention will be seen from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein Figure l is a view showing one form of the device. I

Figure 2 is a similar view showing another form.

Figure 3 is a view showing indentations in plaster of Paris that is placed around the knee.

Figure el. is a detail showing that the adjusting ring may be supplied in a plurality of sizes for the design shown in Figure 2.

In the drawings I have shown my device as it would be made wherein numeral 1 indicates the adjustable disc upon which the stump rests when the device is being fitted.

In the design shown in Figiure 1 this disc is surrounded by a casino 2 which is provided with flanges 3 at its edges that are held together by bolts 4. The casing is reenforced by a band 5 at the upper end which is provided with flanges 6 at the edges which are held in a frame 7 that has a sliding member 8 with beveled edges adjustably held on its upper end by clamps 9. The inner end of the member 8 extends upward and has a bar 10 pivotally attached to it through a pin 11.. The lower edges 'disc 21 it may be raised or lowered.

12 of the bar 10 engage shoulders 13 on the member 8 to limit its movement. A washer or disc 14 is attached to the inner side of the joint to guard the limb or its covering from oil in the joint. The upper end of the bar 10 is attached by bolts 15 to a. leather casing 16 which is laced around the thigh as shown. This casing 16 may be of any suitable design or shape and may be made of any suitable material.

The disc 1 is constructed with an outer ring 17 which is held by rods 18' to a sleeve 19 that is attached to the upper end of a screw 20; and an inner disc 21 having a. projection 22 with a curved seat 23 in it in the center, a lip 24& around its outer edge to limit its upward movement, and a sleeve 25 extending downward from its center and over a screw 26 so that by rotating the The screw 20 is supported in a sleeve 27 and provided with an adjusting nut 28 so that the screw and disc 1 may be raised or lowered by turning the nut 28. The sleeve 27 is supported in a knuckle 29 on a. member 30 at the base. The member 30 is provided with a flange 31 which is attached to a foot 32 and which is provided with graduation marks so that the foot may be set to any angle in relation to the upper part of the limb. The foot 82 is held to the member 30 by a bolt 33 extending upward through the center as shown in dotted lines. It will be seen that by loosening this bolt the foot maybe set to any desired angle and by removing the bolt the foot may be removed and turned over o that it may he used on the opposite limb.

The member 30 has a shaft 34rmounted therein and on the outer ends of this shaft are bars 35 which extend outward and upward and. their upper ends are slidably held in sleeves 36 which are provided with pins 37 that engage openings 38 to adjustablv hold the bars in the sleeves. The sleeves 3b are rigidly attached to the sides of the casing: 2 and it will be seen that by adjustingthe rods in them it will be possible to adjust the distance between the foot and the casing 2 to fit; limbs of dilferent lengths.

In the forward part of the foot is an opening 39 in which an elastic 4O is held on a pin 41 and the upper end of the elastic is attached to a hook 42 on a clip 43 on the casing 2. .At the heel. another opening 44 in which a cord held on e pin/.16 and.

the upper end of this cord may be attached to a pin 4? to limit the downward movement of the heel. A clip 48 may be provided at each side of the upper part of the casing 2 so that straps may be attached to it if desired.

In fitting the device to a limb it may be placed on the limb as shown with the disc 21 screwed upward as far as it will go and then the member 1 moved upward by the nut 28 until the recess 23 engages the lower end of the stump. The section of the easing 2 above the member 1 may then be filled with plaster of Paris as indicated by the numeral a9 and after this is set the disc 21 is screwed down to the position shown so that there will be a clearance between it and the end of the stump. This will provide an easy seat for the stump without bearing against its extreme end.

i In the design shown in Figure 2 a thin metallic casing, preferably of aluminum, is provided to support the thigh and this casing which is indicated by the numeral 50 is provided with screws 51 for adjustably holding its ends together. It will be seen that the ends overlap considerably so that the casing may be enlarged to fit limbs of dilferent sizes.

In this design complete foot is provided which is indicated by the numeral 52 and this foot may be provided with all of the usual ankle or toe joints as indicated by the numerals 58 and 54:. The foot is provided wit-h a ring at its upper end which is pivotally held to it by a bolt 56 so that itmay be adjusted to slope outward at any desired angle and the bolt 56 may be provid d with a pointer 57 so that the angle may be readily determined. The bolt is held in the foot by a pin 58 as shown in dotted lines. The foot is attached to the casing 50 by rods 59 which are constructed of stationary members 60 which are held in the section by nuts 61, sleeves 5b which are held to the lower edge of the casing 50 by stud bolts with nu s ti-:3, and screws 64- which are threaded into the sleeves 62 and pivotaliy attached to the upper ends of the members 60 by pins (35. The upper ends of the members 60 are also attached to a spider ($6 and the spider is provided with hub 67 at its center in which the screw 20 of the member 1 is mounted. The nut will rest upon the upper side of the hub 67 and thereby provide a means for raising and lowering the member 1 in the casing 50. It will be seen that by removing the nuts 63 from the bolts the sleeves 62 may be moved ofi of the bolts and rotated to adjustthe distance between the casing 50 and the foot. It will also be seen that these rods 59 may be arranged so that two of them may be adjusted so that they are somewhat shorter than the other two when it is desired to pro vide a bend at the knee.

The plan view of the casing 2 shown in Figure 3 shows that the plaster of Parisv is cut away slightly at the points 68, 69, TO, and 71 after it has set and Figure t shows that the ring 17 may be made in a plural ity of sizes. The stump should be thoroughly shaved before the plaster of Paris is poured around it to prevent the hairs sticking in the plaster of Paris.

It is also understood that this device shown in Figure 2, may be lit to the stump of a limb in the same manner as the device shown in Figure 1. and the section above the member 1 filled with plaster of Paris in the same manner.

It will be understood that changes may be made in the construction without departing from the spirit of the invention. One of which changes may be in the designs of the casings 2 or 50; another may be in the use of any other means for raising and. lowering the member 1 or the disc 21 in it; another may be in the use of any other resilient device for holding the forward end 01" the foot instead of the elastic 40; and still another may be in the use of feet of any other design than those shown in either Figures 1 or 2.

Having thus fully described the inven tion, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:.

1. In an artificial limb a foot having adjustable features, a casing that may be placed around the limb, and a means for adjustably holding the casing to the foot; said casing having an adjustable disc with an adjustable center therein.

2. In an artificial limb a casing that may be placed around the stump of the limb, a foot adjustably held to the casing, and a disc with an adjustable center adjustably supported in the casing.

In an artificial limb a casing that may be placed around the stump of the limb; a disc having an adjustable center supported in the casing upon a screw so that it may be raised andlowered; and a footadjustablyheld to the lower end of the easing; said casing being adaptable to be filled withplaster of Paris around the stump form a erfect lit and said plaster of Paris being cut away at certain points to clear the protruding bones of the knee joint.

' THEODGBE M. arvae-race. 

